Roasted Asparagus

When I was a kid, there was this dinner time rule in our house regarding vegetables and new foods. It actually still exists…just currently only for my lone nephew. The rule stated that everyone has to take as many bites of veggies as however old they were. So for example, my 5 year old nephew always has to take 5 bites of veggies. If you didn’t take your required bites, there’d be an extended period of time waiting at the dinner table…staring at your plate of cold lifeless vegetables, hoping that by some miracle you’d be let off the hook.

That never happened in my house. My mom was a stickler for eating your vegetables and trying new foods. And thus I have very fond (and very many) memories of what seemed like hours at the dinner table. Racking my brain for some genius plan to magically make whatever was left on my plate disappear. I tried recruiting the fat family dog a few times. However, that usually didn’t work. I also tried hiding previously chewed veggies in my napkin and slyly trying to throw it away. That didn’t work either as there was a “napkin check” put in place too.

Luckily, over the years I finally learned to like my vegetables. I can even say that I love them. And I have my parents to thank for that! Making me try, try and try again. Never giving up on guiding me towards a healthy and well balanced diet. However, there is one vegetable that I can say I still absolutely detest. Dislike with a passion. Well…that is until this past weekend.

For all of my life I have always loathed asparagus. I hate the taste. Can’t stand the texture. And the smell grosses me out. I just can’t like it – not grilled, not roasted, not boiled, not raw and not even in a box or with a fox! But last weekend I took a cooking class with my Mom and we made this roasted asparagus recipe with a tangy dressing on top. OMG. Those green spears were delicious! I was in love! Finally, I had found a recipe and method which made me LIKE asparagus.

decided that I definitely needed to try this at home. I mean, asparagus is one of Dario’s top favorite veggies and I think in 7 years of knowing him, I’ve made it twice. But in order for me to like it to, I decided to stick to the instructions given to us from our chef instructor:

Trim off the tough woody bottoms of the spears. It’s usually about the last inch or two that can be cut off.

Peel the trimmed bottoms. Even though the woody parts are gone, the skin can be tough and stringy (one of the things I used to dislike). Take a vegetable peeler and remove the outer layer and it’ll leave a nice tender, non-stringy spear.

Unlike many of my roasted veggies (like these recipes), asparagus tastes the best when it’s still crisp-tender. Not all soft and mushy. So roast only for about 8-10 minutes. It should be barely fork tender.

Even if you’re a die hard asparagus hater, this recipe may change your mind. I can’t promise that you’ll love it, but I can promise you that this recipes is awesome – asparagus included!

Toss trimmed asparagus in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 8-10 minutes – this provides a tender, yet crisp asparagus spear. If you like yours more well done, cook for an additional few minutes.

While asparagus cooks, mix the lemon juice, white wine vinegar and garlic together in a small bowl. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes.

Add in the remaining ingredients, except of the olive oil, to the lemon juice mixture. Stir to combine.

While whisking, drizzle the olive oil into the dressing. Continuously whisking during the addition of the oil will help ensure the dressing stays emulsified.